Sally Caruana
Founder & CEO

SHEforce Recruitment & Labour Hire

A social entrepreneur passionate about the construction industry, Sally brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as the founder and CEO of Sheforce Recruitment & Labour Hire.  Working within construction, financial services and government, Sally is a powerhouse relationship builder who prides herself on her dedicated work ethic, strong leadership, mentoring skills and commitment to drive social change to see women thrive in construction.  Sally is passionate about helping young people consider a career within building and construction and choose the right pathway to achieve their goals and build a career

TOPICS

Women in Construction, Women in Trade

Angela Angelopoulos
Education & Employment Programs Coordinator

Jesuit Social Services

Angela is passionate about upskilling young people to be employable, demystifying the job search process, developing confidence in young people to perform their best at interview and achieve their goals and emphasises the value of planning and preparation to ensure young people can get their foot in the door.

Angela has a breadth of knowledge and experience in the employment services sector with well over 15 years in Recruitment.

TOPICS
Career planning; job readiness; career advice; and re-engagement

Deb Smith
Finance Broker

Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers

Deb is a passionate person who has been running her own business for 5 years.
Deb is currently working in the finance sector and has an entrepreneurial approach and a strong sales background. She has volunteered in children's mentoring roles and as a general life coach.
Deb has a passion for helping people with financial literacy.

TOPICS
Doing what you love; trying different things, business ownership and management

Peter Venables
Managing Director

Integrity Business College

Peter and his wife Joanne launched Integrity Business College in 2005 with offices in Docklands Melbourne, regional Victoria and South Australia.

 Peter has a wealth of personal experience in business management, training and consultancy, having owned a number of successful hospitality, retail and events management businesses.

His area of expertise is in the training management, virtual training and providing career pathways in the IT and Business as well as School-Based traineeships.

TOPICS
IT industry, training, business management

Chris M Shields
Architect

CMS Architects

Christopher obtained his Bachelor of Architecture in 1984 from RMIT and is a member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

As a registered architect, he has 25 years’ experience in commercial & residential design & construction projects. CMS Architects provides excellent presentation skills, with the latest computer-aided design & documentation technology.

TOPICS
Architecture and the Architectural industry

Ben Rodgers
Executive Officer

Inner North Community Foundation

The INCF has given more than $2.4M in grants to more than 130 organisations in the communities of Darebin, Moreland and Yarra since it was established in 2007.

Ben’s role is at the forefront of social impact and his focus as a speaker is on philanthropy, community and how everyone has a role to contribute to creating prosperous, connected, cohesive communities.

TOPICS

Philanthropy 101: How giving of time and money makes us a stronger community

Jordan Gibbs
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Currently undertaking a Masters/PhD in Clinical Psychology, Jordan has worked in research and tertiary education for over 6 years. His primary work is the culturally safe and appropriate provision of care and wellbeing support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across various sectors. He has a passion for supporting young people living with disadvantage and their educational and life goals, whatever they may be.

Jordan provides information on how young people can build strong careers by taking opportunities for growth including education, volunteering, employment and networking.

TOPICS

Studying and working in Psychology and Forensics

Peter Sheko
Program Administration Coordinator

Jesuit Social Services

Armed with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), Cert IV in Training & Assessment (TAE) and Cert IV in Career Development, Peter is a highly experienced employment services practitioner, with 22 years in employment/disability-related programs.

He is passionate about advocating for disadvantaged jobseekers and marketing them to potential employers.

TOPICS

Believe in yourself.  Effective job applications and interview techniques

David Reid
Policy & Technical Manager

Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria

David has had a rich career journey in his chosen field of horticulture. David studied at Deakin, Monash, RMIT and Melbourne, studying various disciplines. He has worked as the Ranger at Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens, a Plant Standards Officer and Compliance Coordinator for Agriculture Victoria, before settling into a career supporting the Victorian horticultural industry with the Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, as their Policy and Technical Manager.

TOPICS

Horticulture

Maja Walker
Executive & Performance Coach

Lessons for Life

Maja Walker is a self-employed executive and performance coach, coaching business owners, leaders and managers from well-known organisations including Telstra, Nestle, Victorian Government departments and RMIT.

As an Executive Coach, there are many things I can discuss with students that may give them a better perspective about work-life and provide them with some myth busters, pearls and tips that will hopefully provide them with a peace of mind and reduce their levels of stress and anxiety they must be experiencing at the movement - especially year 12 students.

TOPICS
Non-linear approach to learning & Career development

Mei Nee Cheong
Media and Marketing Manager

Islamic Museum of Australia

Mei Nee is the Media and Marketing Manager at the Islamic Museum of Australia. She is responsible for implementing the Museum’s Media and Marketing strategy and also oversees the IMA’s Public Programming and outreach activities.

Mei Nee has a strong interest in supporting young people transition into the workforce, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds who may be subject to and challenged by unconscious bias in the workplace.

TOPICS

Supporting young people transition into the workforce

Luke Phillips
Designer

Into Carry Co.

After graduating from Industrial Design at RMIT, Luke worked for 2 years as Studio Manager at a small bespoke architectural lighting design studio. He then embarked on a creative gap year, working in the hospitality industry to free time to pursue his creative projects.
Luke currently freelancers his graphic and product design skills while working several days a week at Four Pillars Gin Distillery.
Recently he has launched a product business focused on, building better habits around-consuming material goods.

TOPICS

Alternative career pathways, Design & Sustainability, Starting a Business